Too Much Polyjuice
by distantorigin
Summary: Draco's forced to drink the Polyjuice Potion and runs into Hermione, just as he's turned into Ron.
1. Snape's Idea of Detention

**Author's Note:__**

Contrary to what the title suggests, this is _not_ a sequel to "The Polyjuice Effect" although the plot (assuming it has one, considering how short it is) is somewhat similar.

This is a fanfic independent of that one, and although I entertained the thought of merging them into one, I was able to think of another direction this story could go and so "The Polyjuice Effect" will remain as it is. I just hope that people will appreciate this one as much as they did that, or if possible, even more so as I'm predicting this to be a bit longer. (Actually, it started as one with a hanging ending, but then a number of people encouraged me to continue it and so I decided that I will.)

I really hope you like this one enough to leave a review, even if it's a bad one, as long as it's helpful. Thanks very much!

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**TOO MUCH POLYJUICE**

**Snape's**** Idea of Detention**

Harry felt sick to his stomach as soon as he took a swig of the potion Snape had given him. He knew exactly what it was but knew that he'd probably get into more trouble if he admitted that to Snape. He, after all, seemed to think it was funny for him, Ron and Malfoy to step into each others' shoes for an hour as their detention. He shut his eyes, not wanting to see himself transform into who he sincerely hoped was Ron—no way would he ever want to turn into _Malfoy_, but Snape had arranged the goblets so randomly, there really was no way to tell.

"Yuck!" he heard someone say in disgust. "Professor, I'd like another glass, there's no way I'm spending an hour as _Weasley__!_"

Harry opened his eyes and saw Ron, well, he figured it was Malfoy, now looking like Ron, and he had a thoroughly disgusted look on his face. He turned and then saw himself, looking at him. He froze. That meant Ron had turned into him, and there was only one other person to turn into. He put his hands to his head and disheveled his hair, desperately trying to get the strands to reach his eyes. They did, and he looked at it in horror. His hair was blond—Malfoy white-blond.

"Come now, Potter, Weasley, Malfoy," Snape said, gesturing towards the door. "Your Common Rooms are waiting for you," he said with a sinister grin. "And don't bother coming back here. I didn't make any antidote and you'll change back into yourselves after an hour anyway, feeling as though nothing happened."

"Fat chance!" Ron, who now looked like Harry, muttered.

"What are you complaining about?" Harry, now looking like Malfoy, accused. "You're not the one who looks like _Malfoy_!"

Malfoy, now looking like Ron, sneered at them. "As if looking like either of you is a treat?!" he said bitterly and quickly went on his way.

"Hey, where are you going?" Ron called. "The Gryffindor Common Room's this way," he said, pointing towards the opposite direction Malfoy was going.

Malfoy turned back to look at them, and oddly, was able to show his smirk, even when he had Ron's face. "If you think for one second that I'm going to spend an hour with a roomful of Gryffindors, you're even thicker than I thought," he said. "I'm going to the library where no one would ever go to find a _Weasley_," he said and then quickened his pace to walk away from them.

Harry scowled at his retreating figure, getting more annoyed that he was the one who presently had the stupid prat's face. Well, if _he_ wasn't going to the Gryffindor Tower, there was no need for him to make nice with the Slytherins. He looked at Ron, who was doing a very good job of making his face look puzzled. Life was so unfair. "I don't suppose I can walk into our room looking like this without anyone noticing, huh?" he said, sounding hopeless.

"I don't think so," Ron replied. "How weird would it be if Harry Potter walked into the Gryffindor Common Room with Draco Malfoy?"

Harry grimaced. "Too weird."

"Almost creepy," Ron said, looking like he was going to get sick.

At the same time, they sharply turned their heads and looked at each other.

"You thinking it, too?" Ron asked, grinning mischievously.

"I think so," Harry said, wearing an expression the real Malfoy usually did, the wicked grin.

"I reckon we can finally pay that git you look like back. After all, he's done _so_ much for us," Ron said, his smile up to his ears.

Harry's smile widened as well, exposing all his teeth. "I reckon we can."


	2. Where No One’s Supposed to Look for a We...

**Where No One's Supposed to Look for a Weasley**

Malfoy looked for the most isolated place inside the library. He just couldn't face anyone looking like Weasley. He didn't want to be looked at like he wasn't his normal self—tall, blonde and with a wickedly handsome grin; he was thousands of times better-looking than Weasley. "Snape's gonna pay for this," he muttered, sitting on a chair beside a tall window, in between the really dusty shelves that looked as if no one's touched them in years. _Perfect_, he thought as he looked outside. Snape was really getting irritable by the minute. He still remembered when he was in his first year and Snape treated him as his best student, and Potter like he didn't deserve to exist. He grinned, but it quickly turned back into a smirk when he remembered what had happened earlier at Potions, when he got included in Potter and Weasley's Detention. He clenched his fists. His father would surely hear about his. And when he does, Snape will be nothing but a—

THUD!

The sound interrupted his thoughts and he looked around. He was at the farthest, most isolated corner of the library and it was already after supper. Who could still be wandering about? He turned his head, expecting the Librarian, Madame Pince to show up and tell him that the library was closed. Instead, he saw a head of bushy brown hair, crouching low to pick up several books that had fallen from the shelf. He snorted. He should've known. It could be no one else but Granger.

Hermione heard someone snort and saw Ron sitting at a desk beside the window. She smiled. Finally, Ron had decided to apologize. Although, he _could_ do better than snort to get her attention, she thought as she walked towards him, forgetting the heap of books on the floor.

"What do you want, Granger?" Malfoy asked, digusted at how close he was to a Mudblood.

Hermione frowned. "An explanation, _Weasley_," she said, stressing on his last name. "Didn't you come here to apologize?" she said, sitting on the chair beside his. "Well, I'm waiting," she said, tapping her fingers on the desk in front of them.

Malfoy moved so his chair was backed to the wall. He should've just stood up and left the moment he saw her walking towards him. But he was too lazy to do so. And now the Mudblood was waiting for him to apologize. He scowled. "Apologize to you?" he said, crossing his arms stubbornly. "Never."

Expecting her to retaliate and tell him off like she usually did Weasley, Draco braced himself for a loud bellow in his ears.

But it didn't come. Hermione was as silent and still as though she had been petrified, and Draco peered at her closer to see if she was. But the movement in her eyes told him she was very much alive and confused, almost as if overflowing with feeling. The sad expression on her face was worth a thousand words. Draco fought the urge to smile wickedly upon seeing Granger so miserable. And then remembered that he couldn't care less what people's opinion of Weasley was and so let himself grin. And then his grin broadened as soon as he saw how upsetting she found it, thinking it was her precious _Ron_, not feeling sorry for her. But she was wrong. The expression on his face _was_ his expression of feeling sorry for someone. He felt so sorry for her because it was the most _pathetic _thing he'd ever seen. So Granger was crazy in love with Weasley. He smirked, feeling he was going to get sick. "I should've known _you'd_ fall for Weasley," he said. "He's so poor that only _Mudbloods_ could want him."

Hermione was taken aback upon hearing him say that he should've known that she'd fall for a Weasley, and Draco gave her a self-satisfied smirk. Surely she was now going to leave, thinking that her precious boyfriend's called her a Mudblood. But he was again surprised when, instead of standing up and walking away like he'd expected, she slowly put her hand on his, which was now resting on the table.

Draco winced, somehow thinking that her touch would hurt him, and then frowned when it didn't, and even felt mildly nice—her warm hand on his cold ones. He looked at their hands in disgust, but didn't do anything to break the contact.

"Is that what this is about?" Hermione asked, putting her other hand over his, surprised at how cold it was when they were usually what made hers feel warm. _Ron must be nervous_, she deduced and raised an eyebrow at him. "Did you see Malfoy on your way here? Did he see us earlier and decided to say bad things about it?"

Malfoy raised an eyebrow at her. What could they have done earlier that he would have bad things to say about?

"Oh Ron," she said, giving his hands a reassuring squeeze. "You know better than to listen to Malfoy, that stupid prat."

Draco opened his mouth to defend himself, but she wasn't finished.

"You know he's just saying those things because he's jealous," she said.

"_Jealous?!_" Malfoy echoed, his eyes flaming with fury. Him? Jealous of Potter and his sidekicks? Ludicrous! He sneered at her. "And what _exactly_ does _Malfoy _have to be _jealous_ of?" He yanked his hands away from hers and crossed his arms over his chest. "_Malfoy_ has everything he wants," he said, smiling self-righteously.

"Wants maybe, but certainly not everything he _needs_," she said, turning her face away and looking at her shoes. "And that's why you're so much better than him," she added, her voice barely audible.

But Malfoy heard it, and was thoroughly confused. "What do you mean?" he asked, for the first time genuinely curious.

Hermione sighed and then looked up at him. "What I mean is that I can't believe that you're putting yourself down because of Malfoy when you know that he's only mean because we have something he doesn't."

"Which is?" Malfoy asked, still not understanding, but she didn't hear him. She wasn't finished talking. "Or at least I thought we did, and now I'm not so sure," she said and then stood up. "But clearly with that attitude we can't discuss it now," she turned and then quickly walked away.

Malfoy let her. He didn't know if the real Weasley would've followed her and he didn't care. He had better things to do than to get involved in the Mudblood's affairs. He leaned back on his chair and looked at the silver watch on his left wrist. He had another half hour before the potion wore off. He frowned. Time was moving so slowly. He closed his eyes, figuring time would drift faster if he slept, but opened them again not even a minute later, thinking it was probably better to sleep in his bedroom. He stood up abruptly, and was already a few steps away from the chair when he realized why he'd come to the library in the first place. He didn't want to go around Hogwarts looking like Weasley. Smirking, he sat back down on his earlier seat, mad at himself for not being able to think straight. Why was he so restless anyway? He thought as he looked out the window, again noticing how big they were, and then suddenly realizing that they weren't windows at all.

He took out his wand and peered at the side of the glass that went all the way from the ceiling to the floor. He pointed his hand at it. "_Alohomora_," he said and immediately the glass slid a few inches to the left. He pushed it further and found himself looking over the Quidditch pitch. Apparently, the 'windows' were actually an entrance to a long balcony he always saw whenever they had a game, but never quite figured it was lining the library walls outside. He stepped out and felt a cold breeze. He turned his head to face against the direction it was blowing and smirked at what he saw. Granger was leaning on the railing, eyes closed but breathing very loudly. Figuring she must've used a different glass door (After all, she probably knew every inch of the library by heart), he walked closer towards her to see why she was being so noisy. He was still a few steps away when he saw her wipe her eyes and figured it out. She was crying. He knew that he should walk away because he couldn't care less whether she needed anyone to comfort her or not, assuming he knew what to do whenever somebody around him was crying, which he didn't, because he didn't know anyone of the sort who was that weak, but something she had said suddenly came back inside his head. _He's only mean because we have something he doesn't_, she'd said, and Draco furrowed his eyebrows. How could her perception of him be so different from all the other girls he knew? And what could she possibly think that Weasley had that he didn't? The Weasleys were so poor, they made his _house elves_ lives seem luxurious. He grinned at his own joke, but her words didn't disappear from his mind. What in the world was Granger talking about?

He raised an eyebrow at her, both in confusion and anger that one sentence from her got him so agitated. He knew he really wasn't supposed to care, but curiosity got the better of him. He cleared his throat.

Hermione opened her eyes abruptly but didn't turn to see who it was. She already knew it could only be Ron. _Who else would be coming here?_ she thought. _At least he didn't snort this time_, she chuckled to herself and sure enough, when she looked, she saw Ron, but the smirk on his face was so scary, she almost couldn't believe it was him. The expression made her skin crawl. Clearly, he didn't come after her to apologize. Fighting to keep her face straight, her voice quivered. "No Ron, not here," she said, turning to go back inside.

Malfoy caught her arm. "I haven't said anything," he said, surprised at how soft her skin felt under his. He'd have thought a Mudblood would never have skin that smooth.

"Well, whatever it was you were going to say, don't say it here," she said, cringing as she felt his grip on her tighten. But she didn't struggle for him to let go. That would only give him the satisfaction of knowing she was weak, and he'd already seen her cry. Plus, they'd promised each other that they would never fight in that place.

"Why not?" Malfoy asked, raising his eyebrows at her. She was acting very strange, he could tell, even when he didn't know her that well. He saw her often enough anyway to know how she usually acted with Weasley. And this, with her brown eyes seeming to call out to him for something he didn't know what, was _not_ how it was.

She looked up at him, looking deeply hurt, as if he'd just called her a Mudblood again. "You know why not," she said. "Or have you really forgotten?" She looked at him with a longing Malfoy didn't understand.

"I just want to know what it is you think I've got that Malfoy hasn't," he blurted out, blinking and turning his eyes away from hers.

"Well," she started. "If you can't figure it out by yourself then you don't deserve to know what it is," she said and tried to walk away.

But Malfoy pulled her right back, his grip on her arm tightening still. "Look, I don't have time for this," he told her, knowing the potion's effect would probably wear off soon. "Just tell me what it is," he demanded, and now looked directly into her eyes.

She blinked and a tear finally escaped and rolled down her cheek. "You're hurting me," she said, struggling for him to let her arm go. She couldn't believe it. Ron wanted her to be the first to say how she felt, even when it was clear a few hours ago that they _both_ felt something for each other. Was he that scared about what happened that he had to wait for her to make the first move this time? Or had he really forgotten all about it? Either way, she knew it was up to her to clear things up. And that this time, words just wouldn't be enough.

"Tell me, or I'll—" Malfoy didn't finish, because whatever he was going to say, he'd forgotten as soon as he felt Hermione's lips fall on his. It happened so quickly, he didn't have time to think, and unwillingly, he let his instincts take over. He closed his eyes as his hands released her arm, and automatically wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer. It was the closest he'd been to her, and now he wondered how he ever thought that Granger was filthy. She felt so warm and sweet in his arms, and the way she was kissing him… He couldn't do anything but kiss her back, pushing her against the balcony in his eagerness to do so, not wanting to stop.

They broke apart and Malfoy's breath came in short gasps.

So did hers. And she clung even more tightly to him, feeling nothing behind her but air, knowing they were at least 15 feet from the ground below. But still, she felt safe, as she leaned her head onto his chest, feeling his warm embrace. She closed her eyes.

"Is that what it is?" he suddenly asked, bowing down to look at her. "You think Malfoy can't kiss?"

"I think," she started and looked up into his eyes. "that Malfoy can't _feel_ what we do when _we _kiss," she said, giving him a soft smile.

He should've felt offended, but he didn't. Instead, he felt the corners of his mouth dangerously turning up as looked at her lips and noticed how pretty that smile of hers made her look. She just didn't know what she was saying. Whatever it was that she and Weasley felt, for sure, he felt about ten times better when she and _him_ kissed. He had never felt anything stronger than it. He was completely smiling now, but it wasn't his usual wicked grin. It was… He didn't know what. Suddenly he froze, the audacity of what he just did becoming clearer to him, and then he pulled away abruptly, staggering as he stepped back.

"Ron, what—" Hermione paused she saw him. It was dark but the moonlight shone at his eyes clearly and there was anger in them, coldness, fury… She trembled.

The look on Malfoy's face was murderous and it didn't change when he saw her trembling, holding on to the balcony's railing for dear life, genuinely afraid. He clenched his jaw, but without another word, turned around and left.


	3. Something Right

**Something Right**  
  
"Well it's about time you came back," Pansy Parkinson said as soon as she saw Draco, now completely changed back into himself, enter the Slytherin Common Room. "I was beginning to worry about you," she said, following him as she took a seat on the leather couch near the fire. She sat beside him, closer than anyone normally would.  
  
"Pansy," he said suddenly, as if remembering something. He turned to look at her pretty face. Pansy had always been devilishly beautiful. And she had that cute evil grin to match. But Draco found himself thinking of the innocent brown eyes he'd been looking into just a few moments ago.  
  
"What is it, Draco?" she asked, moving even closer towards him.  
  
"I was just wondering," he said, pushing the thought about the Mudblood out of his brain. "How do you feel whenever we kiss?" he asked.  
  
Pansy blushed and gave a little giggle. "Well," she looked up at him. "How do _you_ want me to feel?" She looked so excited and eager to please him, for a moment, he thought her more pathetic than Granger.  
  
Without warning, he leaned down and kissed her, right on the mouth, and for a second he heard her whimper, surprised, but pleased, and then she started kissing him back, using all the tricks she knew, touching her tongue between his lips, coaxing them open.  
  
He abruptly pulled away. He didn't feel anything while kissing her and he'd had enough. He stood up and headed for the boys' dormitory.  
  
"Draco," Pansy said, following him. "What's the matter? Is something wrong?" she asked, pouting.  
  
_Wrong?_ Draco repeated in his head. No. Something was _right_. The Mudblood was right once again.  
  
Weasley had something he didn't.

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**Author's Note**:  
  
Okay, this was supposed to be the end of this story, but due to some really good reviews (Thanks very much to everyone who did review!), I guess I am going to continue it since, it really isn't fair anyway to keep a lot of stuff hanging namely, Harry and Ron's mischief, and Hermione's being out-of- character. There's actually an explanation to that, which, I guess I wasn't able to show from the dialogue (I really need to improve my writing skills), even if Draco had mentioned that she _was_ acting weirder than usual. See, actually, before Draco walked into the picture, Hermione and Ron were already having some sort of disagreement, that's why Hermione thought Ron was in the library to apologize to her. As to what they disagreed about, well, that's probably related to the whole issue on the balcony, which, I guess I will have to explain in further chapters.  
  
Anyway, thanks so much to all who reviewed, and hopefully I'll be able to update on this soon. Thanks! 


	4. Something Wrong

**Read This First:**

Hey! Just wanted to say something before you continue reading (I really hope you do). **If you've** **read this before** (thanks so much for giving me your time!) and are starting from this chapter now because you've already seen the previous ones before this got uploaded, please read the second chapter again as I made some revisions to it (It's not that long anyway). See, I received a number of feedback that said that Hermione wasn't in-character (Okay, I really received just 2, but one was from my sister and hers almost count as 10 as she's been my best critic for 19 years). Also, because there were a few lines that wouldn't be consistent for this next chapter (because like I said, I wrote that, without this continuation in mind), I changed it a bit. Anyway, I hope you like it, and please tell me if there's still some stuff wrong with it.

On the other hand, **if you haven't read this before**, please do continue reading, and don't forget to review.

Thanks very much, I really hope you like it!

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**Something Wrong**

Hermione woke up with a start. She didn't know why but somehow she remembers feeling restless and uneasy last night before she went to bed. And she couldn't remember either when it was that she had last slept so terribly. Something was bothering her although she couldn't tell what it was at this early in the morning—or was it late? She glanced at the clock beside her bed and sat up abruptly. It was late.

Cringing and forcing herself not to think about whatever the reason was that she was in such a terrible mood, she quickly got out of bed and got ready for breakfast.

It was a mere 10 minutes later and she was already in the Gryffindor Common Room.

"Hermione!" Harry called as soon as he saw her emerge from the staircase to the girls' dormitory. "About time you came down, we've got loads to tell you," he said, beaming at her.

She smiled, curious to find out what it was that made Harry so happy when she saw Ron give her a faint wave from behind him. All of a sudden, last night's events came crashing back into her head, and she remembered why it was that she felt so disturbed. Her smile quickly disappeared. Judging from the way Ron waved at her, she figured he still wasn't going to apologize to her anytime soon. What was his problem anyway? Was he really that repulsed from kissing her? She thought, remembering how he'd looked at her with complete disgust almost as soon as they broke apart. How could he not have felt what she did? It was such a good kiss. Of course, they'd really only shared one other so there wasn't a lot to compare it to, but the one last night was so far off from their first one, she almost fell breathless just thinking about it. She looked at Ron again with the same longing expression she had last night, hoping for him to understand. But he just raised his eyebrows at her, and if possible, looked even more puzzled.

"You can tell me on the way to breakfast Harry," she just said, taking his arm and avoiding Ron's eyes.

Harry was too much in a good mood to notice. "We've finally gotten Malfoy back for everything he did to us," he said happily.

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? How?"

"Well, we got him to admit that he's a loser and that he's stupid," he replied.

"Bloody stupid," Ron added automatically.

"Bloody stupid," Harry amended, straining to keep himself from laughing out loud.

"I still don't get it," Hermione said. "How were you able to do that?"

"You'll see," Harry said with a mischievous grin as they entered the Great Hall.

Hermione gasped as soon as they were inside. Above the long tables, in place of the usual floating candles and other enchanted decorations was what seemed to be a floating mural of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. But what was more eye-catching was that Harry, Malfoy and the new Professor Brooks were in it and they were talking.

Everybody in the Great Hall was looking up.

"Fred and George told me where the schedule of the enchantment decorations could be found and manipulated," Ron said to her. "They said that nobody really cared much for it so it wouldn't be noticed if we slipped in whatever decorations we wanted to put. They were right. Once, Fred even said that he made several candlesticks look like…"

Hermione didn't hear anymore. Aside from the fact that she was in no mood to listen to Ron, and that his voice got drowned out from all the whispering around them, it was really more interesting to listen to the ones in the mural projection.

_ "Admit it Malfoy, you're nothing without your father's money,"_ the projection of Harry said as he stood over a helpless-looking Malfoy.

_ "Yes, I admit it," _the projection of Malfoy said, on the verge of tears. _"I bought my way into the Slytherin House Team. I cheat at tests to get better scores than Weasley. I hate Granger because she's good at everything and I'm envious of you, Potter, because you're a much better Seeker and wizard than I am_," he paused, as if thinking. _"And I'm bloody stupid,"_ he finished and the projection of Harry smiled.

The projection of Professor Brooks then walked to them and clapped once. _"Now, at least that's all out in the open,"_ he said, and then the mural went blank.

Two seconds later, it started again.

_ "Admit it Malfoy…"_

The whispering in the Great Hall multiplied.

"How did you do it?" Hermione asked Harry, obviously impressed. She looked over at the Slytherin table and saw nearly all of them red with embarrassment. Some were already walking out with disgruntled looks on their faces.

"Well," Harry started, sitting down at the Gryffindor table. Ron sat to his left and Hermione on his right. "Ron and I came up with the idea after Snape made us drink the Polyjuice Potion last night, and then—"

"Wait," Hermione interrupted. "Snape what?"

"For detention," Harry said. "Snape thought it would be funny for the three of us to spend an hour in each others' shoes so he made us drink the Polyjuice Potion and told us to go to our Common Rooms."

"But Malfoy didn't want to step foot in Gryffindor's," Ron continued. "Not that we wanted him to, but anyway, neither did Harry want to go to the Slytherin dungeons. So Harry and I came up with this idea, to get Malfoy back."

"It was Ron who said we should have a professor as a witness though and so when we saw Brooks, and you know how everyone admires him, we knew everyone would believe it for sure if he said it really happened," Harry then said.

"It was sort of difficult to get him involved though, we had to almost break into a fistfight outside his classroom before he came out to stop us," Ron told her.

"But he did, and Fred and George's Recording Charm worked like," Harry paused to chuckle. "Well, like a charm."

It was all very fast and Ron's speaking between mouthfuls wasn't helping any for Hermione to understand better what they were telling her. She hadn't yet processed all of it but somehow already felt that something was _utterly wrong_. "So that really wasn't Malfoy there?" she asked uneasily, almost afraid to hear the answer.

"Sssshh!" Ron hissed. "No one's supposed to know," he warned.

"Yeah, don't tell anyone," Harry added, lowering his voice. "But yeah, that's me who looks like Malfoy and Ron who looks like me."

"From the Polyjuice Potion," Hermione confirmed.

"Yes, Hermione, we already told you," Ron said.

"And this happened, when?" she asked, her heart pounding faster.

"Last night, after supper, detention," Harry told her.

"Geez, Hermione, are you even listening?" Ron complained.

Hermione ignored him and looked at Harry seriously. "But Harry, if you turned into Malfoy, and Ron into you, then that means that Malfoy turned into—"

"Into Ron, yeah," Harry finished for her, and took a bite of his sandwich.

Hermione's heart stopped.


	5. Confirmation Confrontation

**Confirmation Confrontation**

_No_, Hermione thought as she walked briskly towards Brooks's office. _It couldn't be. Ron _must've _turned back into himself before he went to the library. He just had to. _She bit her lip as she approached his office, and then furrowed her eyebrows when she noticed something very strange. She wasn't alone. In fact, she thought as she looked around. She'd never seen a bigger crowd in front of a teacher's office. There were at least 15 other students around Brooks's desk. Most of them were girls, and most belonged to Slytherin. They were all so noisy, she almost couldn't hear Professor Brooks talking in the middle. She took a deep breath and stepped forward, attempting to join in the crowd. She failed. Staggering back into a wall, she was still thinking of how to listen to what Brooks was saying when she heard another voice much clearly, but more to her dismay.

"Come to confirm the story yourself?" she heard. "And I thought _Mudbloods_ believed Harry Potter to be infallible."

Hermione turned and saw Draco Malfoy, a few feet away from the crowd, almost hidden behind the door of Brooks's office. She felt anger rise inside her. She should've known it was him at the library last night. She _should've_. She should've realized it the moment he called her 'Mudblood'. She should've known Ron would never ever say it. Even if they just had a fight, which, she briefly reminded herself, they haven't really resolved yet although Ron seemed to have already forgotten as he acted like nothing happened earlier before breakfast. But there was something more pressing that she needed to handle at the moment.

She scowled. "How dare you take advantage of me?" she demanded, pointing her wand at Malfoy's neck.

"Take advantage of you?!" Malfoy said, surprisingly steady. "Need I remind you Granger, _you _kissed _me_," he said, twiggling his eyebrows.

"_I did not!_" Hermione said, cheeks burning and looking around to see if anybody heard him. But the crowd was oblivious to them. "You _knew_ I had feelings for Ron, and you used it to your advantage!"

"_My_ advantage!" Malfoy said in disbelief. "And what could _I _possibly gain from touching a Mudblood?" he said.

Hermione lowered her wand, knowing it was pointless to argue. He didn't try to convince her anyway that he was Ron. She had just been really stupid. Feeling her face grow even redder, she turned to walk away, thoroughly embarrassed.

"How would you know anyway that it was me last night," Malfoy said, a mere two steps later. "Did you kiss your boyfriend Weasley again and realized he didn't measure up?" he said, folding his arms across his chest and leaning against the wall, not really waiting for an answer.

He got one anyway. _And it's bloody painful too_, he thought as he put his hand to his left cheek where she'd slapped him.

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**Author's Note:** Okay.... I know it's a short one, but that's why I uploaded the next chapter right away. Hope you like it! And please don't forget to review! Thanks!


	6. The Birth of an Idea

**The Birth of an Idea**

"_I _don't believe it was you, Draco," Pansy announced as soon as she saw Malfoy come into the Slytherin Common Room. She stood up from a huddle of 6th years that consisted of Crabbe, Goyle, and 3 other Slytherin girls, and walked towards him. "None of us do," she said, leading him to their group.

"She's right," a brunette Malfoy recognized as Alexandra Flint, their former Quidditch captain's sister, said. "We think Potter and Weasley charmed that show earlier so it would say the opposite of what happened."

Five other heads nodded in agreement.

"They probably even had Granger to do it so they wouldn't make any mistakes," Pansy said, clinging to his arm. "Knowing how clumsy Potter and Weasley are, and you know they always include that filthy Mudblood in their plans," she added, giving a dark scowl.

"Don't be thick Pansy," Malfoy said. "Granger couldn't have done it, she was in the—" he paused, and then looked at each of the six people looking at him in admiration.

"Well, whoever did it, we still don't believe it was really you back there," the blond girl in the group, Amy Lochwood, said.

"We're on your side, Draco Malfoy," the last girl, Millicent Bullstrode said proudly, and they all nodded again.

"Did you hear that, Draco? None of us are against you," Pansy said happily. "And we're all against Potter, Weasley and Granger!"

Draco smirked, irritated by her overly cheery voice but thought that it wasn't totally useless. Pansy had just reminded him of something useful. _Potter, Weasley and Granger!_ it echoed in his head. The Golden Trio was always together and there's no way Potter and Weasley would do something as big as that without telling their Mudblood friend. That meant that Granger _knew_. Granger _knew_ that it wasn't Weasley that she had kissed that night at the library. And so she _knew_ that the real people in the projection were Potter and Weasley. Granger knew the truth.

He looked again at the six Slytherins looking at him. None of them had a clean record with the professors and even the six of them weren't enough witnesses to prove that it wasn't really him who'd cowered in front of Potter. But if it was everybody's favorite _Mudblood_ who told the truth, then the whole school would believe that Harry Potter was a fraud.

He grinned. "Pansy, you're a genius," he said.

Pansy fainted.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Hmm… I really didn't expect my chapters to be _this_ short. But these are really just to get the story moving since obviously, nothing big's happened yet, although something will, really. I just need these fillers so it'd be clear by the next chapter (and I hope I was able to show these) that a) Hermione's already sure that it was Draco who looked like Ron whom she had kissed at the library the night before, even without getting the confirmation from Professor Brooks, and b) that Draco's planning on using Hermione to prove his innocence—that's what he realized from Pansy, and that's why he's going to talk to Hermione in the next chapter.

Whoops! Did I say too much? Oh, well, you'll find out soon enough enough anyway so it's okay to put a few spoilers here. Besides, how many people really read the 'author's notes' anyway? :P

Don't forget to review! Thanks very much to everyone! (I'll mention your names in the next chapter, hopefully I have more time by then.)

Oh, and don't I just _suck_ at chapter titles? :P


	7. Making A Deal

**Making a Deal**

_"Can't we just... Pretend it never happened?" Ron said, and there was no hiding the hurt that had then appeared on Hermione's face. _

"Are you saying you're sorry that it did? That you want to forget about it?" she asked, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. 

"Well, yes," Ron said. 

Hermione looked at him angrily. 

"I mean, no," he quickly amended. "I'm not sorry and I don't want to forget." 

"What then?" she asked. 

"I just... I just..." Ron stammered. "I just want things back to the way they were. Before, before any of... You know, back when we were just..." his voice trailed off. 

"When we were just friends," she finished for him, the tone of her voice bitter. 

"Well, there's nothing wrong with being friends, is there?" Ron asked. 

Hermione groaned. "It's not that there's anything wrong with it, it's just--" she paused, seeing the worried look on his face. "Oh, forget it!" she groaned and then stalked off, leaving Ron dumbfounded. 

He just doesn't get it, Hermione thought as she wiped another tear from her face and leaned onto the balcony overlooking the Quidditch Pitch. It hurt her like hell but she couldn't stop thinking about that earlier episode with Ron, when he finally did apologize to her, but for all the wrong reasons. _He just doesn't get it_, she thought again, and again, remembering what he had said. 

_"Can't we just pretend it never happened?_

She groaned. She heard it over and over in her head and it was like the projection he and Harry had shown earlier at the Great Hall. Except that what was playing in her head was _real_. Ron wasn't ready for a relationship, and from the looks of it, he never will be. 

She closed her eyes and when she opened them, found that her vision was blurry. She frowned. Wiping her face with a handkerchief, she took deep, long breaths to keep herself from crying. Merlin knew, she'd already cried enough that week. She sighed heavily and leaned even lower onto the railing. 

"He's not coming you know," a low, icy voice said. 

Hermione froze. She didn't want to talk to anyone tonight, much less _him_. And what was he doing anyway in _their_ balcony? She thought, and then frowned, remembering that she and Ron were back to being just friends and so whatever promises made on that balcony, where they'd shared their first (and only) kiss, were now probably nullified. And also, Malfoy's presence on it was enough to ruin the special meaning of the place. "Go away, Malfoy," she said, finally finding her voice. 

"Why?" Malfoy said. "Are you disappointed I'm not Weasley?" he asked. "Disappointed that I don't have that ugly excuse of a hair color and the wreak of poverty oozing from my ears?" 

"Why you arrogant--" Hermione paused. She'd turned and expected him to be at least a few steps away, considering how soft his voice was, but she nearly bumped into him instead. She tried to step back but felt the hard cement of the balcony preventing her from putting more distance between them. 

"Or are you too glad that it's me, you can't handle it?" he asked, and she stepped sideways to get away. Quickly, he placed his arms on either side of her, trapping her in place. "I don't think so," he said. 

Hermione sighed in resignation. Refusing to look up at him, she asked, "What do you want?" 

"My innocence," he replied. 

"Ha!" she snapped. "That'll be difficult to get, considering you never had it." 

"Don't get smart with me Granger, I don't like this any more than you do." 

"Good, then you can leave," she told him. 

"Not until I get what I want," he said, leaning closer. 

"Ugh! If you think I'm going to kiss you again--" 

"Don't flatter yourself, Granger, now shut up and listen," he cut her off. "You're going to tell everyone at Hogwarts that it wasn't me that they saw this morning at the Great Hall. You're going to tell everyone that it was Potter and Weasley and that it was because of the Potion that Snape gave us," he said. 

"If you're trying to hypnotize me Malfoy, you forgot your swinging pocket watch," she said. 

"I'm not trying to hypnotize you," he said. 

"Well you should," she told him. "Because that's the only way you'll get me to squeal on my friends." 

"Oh? Not even if I say that I'll tell everyone that you've been sneaking into this balcony every night to go snogging with Weasley?" 

Hermione's eyes widened in alarm, but then realized Malfoy was bluffing. "I don't go 'snogging with Weasley' as you so crudely put it, every night, but even if I did, you don't have proof of that. Nobody will believe you," she said. "In case you haven't noticed, Malfoy, you're not very popular right now, not even in your own House," she added. 

"Which is why you're going to do this for me," he said. 

"You're dreaming," she countered. "There is nothing you can use against me to make me do this and you know it," she said proudly. 

"Oh really?" he said confidently. He'd expected something like this from Granger and he wasn't a fool to not have thought of a plan. "So you mean it's okay for me to tell Weasley himself _exactly_ where I was the night he and Potter came up with their _brilliant_ plan?" 

Hermione gasped. "You wouldn't!" she said, her voice quivering. "You can't! You just can't!"she panicked. 

Malfoy gave her a pointed look. "Trying to hypnotize _me_, Granger?" he asked. "You forgot your swinging pocket watch." 

She thought of something else to say to get her out of the stupid predicament, but for the first time in her life, she didn't have any useful ideas. She sighed exasperatedly. 

Malfoy took it as a sign of defeat and smiled triumphantly. "I thought so," he said, and only then did he pull back his arms away from her, now that the threat of her leaving was gone. "Now, first things first," he started, stepping back from her and walking closer towards the door. Hermione immediately felt the cool breeze as soon as they were apart. "We need to convince Brooks as 1/3 of the fault belongs to the bloody bastard. Of course he wouldn't believe me alone--" 

"And why would he?" Hermione interrupted. 

Malfoy ignored her. "But if his _best student_ is there," he said, turning to look at her. "that would be _you_," he continued. "then he'll be as gullible as Longbottom, I gather," he finished and raised an eyebrow at her. "Meet me outside his classroom after breakfast tomorrow. It's Saturday anyway and I don't want to waste any time." 

She grimaced. "Then why aren't you leaving yet?" 

Malfoy frowned. He really had been about to leave and meant for his last statement to be something he'd called to her from afar, but for some reason he couldn't bring himself to walk away just yet. He felt as though there was something else he had to say but couldn't quite put his finger on what it was. He furrowed his eyebrows at her. 

"Well?" Hermione prompted, annoyed at how Malfoy was looking at her. His cold gray eyes were piercing and it made her feel self-conscious, as if she was being evaluated, and worse, as if it mattered to her that she was. 

"Well," he echoed, almost as if he was asking it to himself. "Why aren't _you_ leaving?" he said lamely. 

The look on her face was angry and confused. "Fine!" she said and started for the glass doors. She'd already slid them open when she felt a tug on her arm. 

Malfoy pulled her back. And then he pulled her close. And then he kissed her, hard, and fast, as though he was just being forced to do it. 

Hermione's arms went flailing at her sides as she struggled to break free from his grasp. She had closed her eyes, but only because she couldn't stand the thought of seeing Malfoy that close. Shuffling her feet beneath her, she was able to step on his foot long enough for him to loosen his grip and for her to push him away. Fire was ablaze in her eyes. "What do you think you're doing?" she demanded, wiping her lips with the back of her hand. 

The silver in Draco's eyes reflected the fury in Hermione's brown ones. But there was another emotion Hermione couldn't comprehend. Malfoy was confused, and he was angry like hell at himself for being so. He looked at Granger again, jaw set, fists clenched and if possible, the expression in his eyes even colder. 

He stalked off, leaving Hermione biting her lip, but only to keep them from trembling. 

* * *

****

**Author's Note:** Hey! I know I haven't update in a long time, and probably a lot of you have abandoned this fic because of that, and although I hope the length of this is okay to compensate for the last two extremely short chapters, I also feel that maybe this is getting too lame to continue. Are Draco and Hermione getting too out of character? I really hope to read your reviews. I already have an idea as to what the overall theme of this would be, but it might take me a while before I get to put everything together. In any case, thanks very much for reading, and hope you wait for my updates. :)

**Special thanks to** Smrt cids, Avery-88, chamorro, Mojo the Rock Chick Munchkin (cool name!), Galladria Perennial, Marz#1, emeralgray, Bubblemonkey, Erythros, Chiara and Pippa, Shattered Halo, Mariah Nerissa, xXxSweetPoisonxXx, muggle lover and absentmindedgenius, and freetoread21 (who I'm sure will be reading this because it's part of the A/Ns). If you're not one of these people, I hope you become more like them, and leave a review, any kind will do.  
**Even more special thanks** are due marina star, average jane, Lucyferina, snowyangel83, Tandy, Hermione Double and mis-soccer, as they also read my other fic (_The Polyjuice Effect_) and also left a review for it. 

In case I missed anyone, please remind me. Again, thanks very much, and please don't abandon me. :)


	8. Hardly HalfDone

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harry Potter and am not making any money from this, although whenever I receive good reviews, I feel as though I've won a million galleons. :)

* * *

**Hardly Half-Done**

"So you see, Professor," Hermione said, looking up at Professor Brooks innocently. "It's all just a misunderstanding."

"Yes, yes, very well, Ms. Granger," Brooks said, nodding his head and standing up. "Mr. Malfoy," he acknowledged the other student present in his office. "I shall correct the mistake immediately," he told them as he led them to his office's door.

"Oh, thank you so much Professor Brooks," Hermione said, hoping her smile didn't look as fake as it was.

"Don't think about it, Ms. Granger. I'm always happy to clear things up for students," he said, and with that, waved goodbye and shut the door.

Malfoy smirked as soon as the door was closed. "I knew Brooks was a gullible fool the moment I saw him," he said, smiling proudly and then, realizing no one was listening to him, he turned and saw Hermione already halfway across the hall. He caught up with her in a second. Not thinking, he grabbed her arm and turned her to face him. "Where do you think you're going, Granger?" he said.

Hermione jerked her arm back and put her hand to where his had been, touching it gently as though she'd been burned, and then looked up at him angrily. "What?" she asked irritably. "We've already convinced Brooks, haven't we? I've done my part!" she said, almost pouting. She had never liked lying to her professors, not even for Harry and Ron, and doing it as a 'favor' to Malfoy made her feel as if she was committing a crime.

Malfoy's chuckle afterwards was no help at all. "You actually think you're done here?" he asked, smirking amusedly and putting his hands in his pockets. "And you dare consider yourself intelligent," he said, sneering.

Hermione eyed him cautiously.

"If you must know, Granger, you're hardly half-done with your task," he said, leaning closer. "I can't believe you don't know that Malfoys don't just set things straight. _We_ always get revenge."

"I'm not lying to Harry and Ron for you if that's what you think," Hermione said, stepping back from him.

"Well I don't care how you do it," Draco told her, rolling his eyes. "Lie or don't lie, what's important is that you give me, strands of their hair."

"Strands of their hair?!" Hermione gasped. "You're not seriously thinking of—but it's only Snape who has the ingredients and he'll never let students use it, not even _you_."

Malfoy looked at her incredulously. "Are you sure you're a Gryffindor Prefect? Why, you're thicker than a concussed troll!"

Hermione's mouth dropped in disgust. She turned to leave but Malfoy blocked her way.

"I got my mother to send me a fresh bottle of that potion," he told her. "You see, unlike you _Mudbloods_, _my_ parents are actually _good_ for some things."

Hermione crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm still not going to do it Malfoy, find someone else to blackmail," she tried to step away from him again, but he was too quick for her to get too far.

"And just what will your boyfriend Weasley say when he finds out about—"

"Ron will understand," Hermione interrupted nervously. She knew it was a lie and that no amount of explanation would get Ron to understand the circumstance she was unaware she put herself into, but surely Malfoy didn't know that.

Malfoy raised an eyebrow at her. "Do you think I'm stupid, Granger?" he asked. "Weasley is an immature git who will never believe anything he doesn't see with his own eyes. Now unless you can find a way to prove that I 'took advantage of you' as you so crudely put it, I gather you're as helpless as a dung beetle when it comes to proving _your_ innocence," he drawled and then curled his mouth into another smirk. "Now, are you going to get me some of Potter and Weasley's hair or not?" he smiled victoriously, knowing she would no longer resist.

She didn't have a choice. Much as she hated to admit it, Malfoy was right. "Fine, but after that I'm done," she said determinedly.

Malfoy just smirked. "I'll be the one to decide that," he said, leaning closer towards her, and Hermione again stepped back warily, her eyes darting around to see if anyone else was in the hallway with them. It was deserted, but, she reminded herself, Brooks was just in the office halfway across the hall. Although, from what Harry and Ron told her of how bad his hearing was, it wasn't exactly the best assurance of safety.

Slowly, her hand crept inside her robe to reach for her wand—to defend herself, in case he tried, anything. She would be ready this time, she thought. But Malfoy didn't do anything. He just stood there, leaning over her, as if reveling in the fact that he was so much taller than she was.

His eyes were so unreadable, Hermione thought it wouldn't have been any harder to read his emotions had they been closed. She furrowed her eyebrows and quickly pushed the thought of Malfoy with his eyes closed out of her head. It was just their proximity, she figured. Being within less than a feet of anybody that evil was sure to keep someone from thinking straight. _Or moving_, she thought as she suddenly felt as if her feet were glued to the floor. _Why isn't he leaving yet?_ she thought.

Malfoy was trying to decide something in his head and having Granger look at him with such a curious expression wasn't helping speed up the process. It was the same way she had looked at him the first time they kissed and she had thought he was Weasley, and also last night, before he had turned to walk away. There was a mixture of fear and hatred in her eyes that only made him regret more his decision last night of pulling her back.

Neither of them had mentioned it that morning when they met outside Brooks's office, only talking about the alibi he'd planned to get Brooks to contradict himself. And until then, Draco was grateful she wasn't bringing it up. But that was also the reason he was so disturbed. Could Granger really not have felt anything remotely good from his kisses? He still wanted to know. What had she been talking about that first night at the balcony about her and Weasley's feelings? Surely _he_ kissed better than _Weasley_. And yet she pushed him away last night like _he_ was the filthy Mudblood. She had some nerve. It was supposed to be the other way around! She was lucky he even _touched_ her.

Still not coming up with a decision, he heard footsteps down the hall. Both he and Granger turned and saw Professor Flitwick, walking their way. He wasn't a particular threat, although it was already a risk for one professor to see them together, let alone two.

Malfoy stepped back from her quickly and then decided in haste. "Meet me at the balcony after supper," he told her. "You should have the hairs by then," he said and with that, left to walk the same direction Flitwick was going so he wouldn't have to greet him.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Yeah, I just saw the first HP movie again and realized, there is no balcony overlooking the Quidditch Pitch. Well, this is fanfiction anyway, so I really hope you'll let that one slide.

For this chapter, in case you were wondering, I think it's pretty feasible that Narcissa wouldn't really care much about what Draco asks for and just gives it to him, since he's a spoiled brat.

Anyway, thanks for those who reviewed and hope you leave another one for this chapter.

More explanations (and hopefully answers to your questions (i.e. Why doesn't Hermione just tell Ron it was an honest mistake, etc. etc.)) in the next chapter, I'll hopefully be able to upload soon. Please just be patient. Thanks very much!


	9. Dinner at the Great Hall

**Dinner at the Great Hall**

Hermione was already eating supper in between Harry and Ron at the Great Hall and still, she didn't know what to do. Since after their visit to Professor Brooks that morning, she had thought of countless scenarios as to how to outsmart Malfoy somehow and not put her friends in jeopardy. It should've been easy enough, considering Malfoy was a stupid prat, but it was as though she were a different person, not being able to concentrate as well as she often did, and therefore came up with nothing helpful.

She really seemed to be getting thicker by the minute, ever since Ron and her shared that blasted kiss. She furrowed her eyebrows, realizing that she actually now saw Ron's point. It _would _be too difficult for the two of them to get together, not with Voldemort alive again and more Death Eaters on the loose. The last thing Harry needed was for his two best friends to get caught up in their own lives and forget about helping him. And, when she thought about it, it was really her and Ron's involvement that got her into her present predicament. _If only we hadn't kissed that time… _she thought, trying to think back on what exactly happened that caused her and Ron to kiss for the first time.

They were just at the balcony, admiring the Quidditch Pitch with its red and gold decorations as Ron had again, just saved enough Quaffles for Gryffindor to win the game. They watched as the sun was slowly disappearing on the horizon. It had all seemed so perfect, so picturesque, and Ron looked at her with such joy in his eyes, it made her feel weak at the knees. And when he leaned in closer, her response of looking up at him was almost instinctive. It was probably the way the moon was shining on his hair—she paused. The moon wasn't up yet that day they met after the game, and she realized, she had suddenly jumped thoughts from their first kiss to their second, which, she recalled in disgust, wasn't with Ron at all but with… She shuddered at the thought and yet knew it was the reason she still hadn't come up with a plan to get away from Malfoy—because she couldn't well stop thinking about _their _kiss. She still remembered exactly how it had felt, how surprised he seemed at first when her lips came to meet his and how confident he'd been when he started to kiss her back. Now, she remembered that at the time, she _had _vaguely noticed a change in the way Ron was kissing, but didn't dwell too much on it as the way he was making her feel left little energy to put effort elsewhere but in the kiss that she had then wished wouldn't end.

She groaned. Hadn't she just told herself that she wouldn't think about that again? Besides, the kiss that Malfoy gave her last night—and as himself, really wasn't anything compared to the first one. It was completely different from the other ones she'd experienced. The urgency that Malfoy impaled upon her made her feel as if she was needed, as if she was… _wanted_. But that was ridiculous.There was absolutely no way Malfoy could ever want _her_. Not that she wanted him to. If anything, she was grateful that he always hated her, because it didn't make her feel guilty to despise him. But that still didn't answer her question.

Why did Malfoy kiss her that night when he had all the freedom in the world not to? And it was highly unlikely that he got caught up in the moment like she and Ron had. There wasn't any 'moment' to get caught up in to begin with.

She was incredibly confused. And catching Malfoy's eyes across the room wasn't helping any. He was probably only reminding her of their meeting later, although the look in his eyes made it seem like there was something else he wanted with her. She looked at her food, avoiding anybody else's gaze. She had never felt more self-conscious in her life.

"We sure got Malfoy this time," Ron said, taking a swig of his pumpkin juice.

"Yeah," Harry said, nodding.

"Well, I don't meant to rain on your parade," Hermione started. "But don't you think Malfoy's going to do something to get you guys back?" she asked. "I mean, I heard Professor Brooks was already telling some students that the projection was just charmed, like painting, that it didn't really happen," she added nervously.

"Yeah, I heard that too," Ron said. "He said that everything he saw was just a fake projection. And so was that show in the Great Hall. We tried to ask who gave him that idea actually. Apparently Malfoy's got himself a witness."

"But Brooks wouldn't tell us who it is," Harry said. "I bet it's Snape though, trying to make up for sending Malfoy in detention with us."

"Yeah," Ron nodded. "If only McGonagall hadn't come in to remind us of the schedule change for Monday and point out to him that Malfoy's voice was just as loud as ours when she heard our argument from the hallway, Snape would've let him off the hook for sure."

"Lucky he didn't though or we wouldn't have come up with out plan," Harry said, smiling. "But I wonder what Malfoy did the time that he was you."

Hermione's heart pounded faster.

"Didn't he say he was going to the library? Because it wasn't a place people would expect to see me, so he doesn't run into anyone?" Ron reminded him. "Good of him, really. Gave us the chance we needed. Not that anybody would've really mistaken him for me though," Ron said, eating his kidney pie. "He was wearing that smirk on his face the whole time, he still looked like himself even with my face. Someone would have to be really stupid to have mistaken him for me," he said, chuckling.

Hermione furrowed her eyebrows and looked at him. "You don't know that," she said, in an effort to defend herself though Ron didn't know it. "It was already after supper, right? That means it was dark. And you know how people can get confused in the dark," she pointed out.

"Well… Yeah," Ron agreed. "But it's not just the unmistakable smirks that could give him away. Never in a million years would Malfoy ever act like me. Didn't you hear the way he talked?" he turned to Harry. "He had my voice but he certainly spoke in a different manner, insulting Snape to his face. You really should've seen him Hermione."

_I did_, Hermione answered to herself. _And he _didn't_ sound anything like you. Only, I thought it was because you were mad at him and confused about us that's why I didn't see through it_, she thought and then groaned. _Oh, of all the nights to be emotionally unstable and not be thinking clearly…_ "But Malfoy didn't notice it was you and Harry that time you turned into Crabbe and Goyle in 2nd year," she argued.

"Because Malfoy's bloody stupid!" Ron reasoned. "Besides, it wasn't difficult to act like Crabbe and Goyle—we just had to pretend we were really dumb."

"_Pretend_?" Hermione said with a catch in her voice, growing more annoyed at Ron. If she had any doubts before as to whether it was better to tell Ron the truth or not, they were certainly gone now. He really wouldn't understand. "I think you underestimate the power of the Polyjuice Potion, Ron, I really do. I mean, Mr. Crouch used it and got even Professor Dumbledore believing he was the real Moody," she said. "For a year," he added meaningfully.

But Ron just rolled his eyes. "I'm just saying it takes a lot to pretend to be me, and I don't think Malfoy's got enough talent to pull it off."

"Assuming he'd ever want to," Hermione said with a frown. She couldn't believe she was actually arguing with Ron again. Sure, they'd agreed to go back to being just friends, but couldn't he at all be the least bit understanding after everything? She took a swig of her pumpkin juice, now determined more than ever to give Malfoy a few strands of Ron's hair. Perhaps he's like to know just how much of the school's population Malfoy could fool when he turned into him. Anyway Malfoy surely wouldn't ever be able to do anything that Harry and Ron can't handle. Even if he _was_ a Slytherin.

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**Author's Note: **Yes, I'm alive. For those of you who were wondering that. Sorry this took so long to update. And that this chapter's not at all worth the wait. And that I'm not uploading the next chapters yet still. Er... I really don't know when I'll be able to finish writing this, but, like they say, "You can't rush art." Not that this is art or anything remotely close to that, just... Well, I'll just shut up before I say anything else you'd hate me for as well. Um... Review? Please? :P


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